Trinity College Trinity College Digital Repository Faculty Scholarship 1-2017 China’s Emerging Silicon Valley: How and Why Has Shenzhen Become a Global Innovation Centre Xiangming Chen Trinity College,
[email protected] Taylor Lynch Ogan Trinity College, Hartford Connecticut Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/facpub Part of the Asian Studies Commons, and the Business Commons In-Depth Innovation another eight million short-term resi- dents in Shenzhen today, bringing the China’s Emerging Silicon Valley: total to around 18 million.2 This qualifies Shenzhen as China’s largest immigrant How and Why Has Shenzhen city. The inflow of human resources Become a Global Innovation Centre through the large influx of immigrants has contributed to Shenzhen’s innovative By Xiangming Chen and Taylor Lynch Ogan capacity (see later). The rapid growth of Shenzhen’s economy has both paralleled and facil- itated its structural shift favouring Shenzhen is China’s very own to examine the key factors that make innovation. After averaging about Silicon Valley. Find out how it has Shenzhen an innovative ecosystem in 35% annually for its GDP growth become innovative by tracing its which companies have thrived. through 1995, Shenzhen kept its rapid growth and strategic transi- annual growth at around 14% through tion; what are the four of its most Rapid Growth and Quality Transition 2014. As a result of this slowed but innovative companies, and what Few companies can perform well if their sustained high growth, Shenzhen’s are the key factors that make it home city does not create and sustain GDP per capita in 2014 reached an innovative ecosystem in which healthy demographic and economic around $25,000, the highest of all companies have thrived.